Learn about mental schemas that kids make in order to build knowledge. Schema play will help you understand what types of toys to provide your child.
Learn about mental schemas that kids make in order to build knowledge. Schema play will help you understand what types of toys to provide your child.
Understanding this theory will help you support your children in their play and development at home!
The four benefits of letting your kids play with play dough, plus an inside look at the dough project and what the company stands for.
Poor concentration skills in children aren't necessarily a long-term problem you can help children to improve their concentration over time.
Music is such an important part of child development! In this post we look at fun music and movement activates to do with infants and toddlers.
Mixed aged play is crucial for child development. Read all about how playing within a group of mixed aged children helps kids learn and grow.
Discover inspiring attic room designs that transform your unused space into creative playrooms for kids. Explore ideas that combine whimsical themes, bright colors, and educational features to create the perfect environment for play, learning, and imagination. Whether you're looking for a magical retreat or a multifunctional play area, find tips and inspiration to make the most of your attic space, turning it into a cherished part of your home where children can thrive and explore.
If the coronavirus has you sheltering at home with your kids, this art and play guide will help promote learning while staying creative!
Discover inspiring attic room designs that transform your unused space into creative playrooms for kids. Explore ideas that combine whimsical themes, bright colors, and educational features to create the perfect environment for play, learning, and imagination. Whether you're looking for a magical retreat or a multifunctional play area, find tips and inspiration to make the most of your attic space, turning it into a cherished part of your home where children can thrive and explore.
What should a three year old know developmentally? While it depends on each child there are some key things every three year old should know!
Find out what the physical, cognitive, social and emotional benefits of play in early childhood are, and how play is vital for learning
Shaving foam (or cream) is wonderful material to use in many different activities with kids - from learning, sensory play, art or craft!
Find out what the physical, cognitive, social and emotional benefits of play in early childhood are, and how play is vital for learning
Discover inspiring attic room designs that transform your unused space into creative playrooms for kids. Explore ideas that combine whimsical themes, bright colors, and educational features to create the perfect environment for play, learning, and imagination. Whether you're looking for a magical retreat or a multifunctional play area, find tips and inspiration to make the most of your attic space, turning it into a cherished part of your home where children can thrive and explore.
Cognitive development is an important term for parents to understand. Understanding this makes parenting a little less stressful.
Process art vs. product art in early childhood education: Discover the role of each approach and explore photo examples.
Bushcraft for kids, a great way to help children connect with nature in a productive way and learn essential survival skills.
What should a three year old know developmentally? While it depends on each child there are some key things every three year old should know!
Kids learn while they play. It is proven to be the most effective teacher, and yet so often it seems that we remove all play from learning situations. Young children minds thrive and grow while building, creating, and experimenting. Playtime is the perfect chance to let there brains explore and think independently. Here are 5 easy ways to encourage learning through play.
Wondering why swinging is one of the best activities for kids? Here’s how swinging benefits kids, and why you should do it every single day.
25 awesome water games to play this summer. Perfect for parties, birthdays, VBS, or just to play in your backyard. Water balloon games. Summer fun ideas.
Help your kids focus on serving others with these Summer Serving Badges. Use the tasks given or write your own with the blank badges included in download.
I'm a former teacher and mom of four. I have a master's in education, over a decade of experience in the classroom, and a passion for helping parents.
This Giant Road Map is something anyone can set up in a zap! You'll need only a few basic craft supplies and a bit of drawing skills.
Teach your child the skills to play independently. How you can help build solo playtime into your daily routine and teach kids to play by themselves.
Start the school year with these 11 fun classroom community activities to help build social-emotional skills and positive relationships!
Looking for a fun quick and easy activity for kids? Make a car ramp! It's an amazing STEM activity that teaches through play. The perfect rainy day activity
We first tried this science experiment using roses when Rosie was a toddler.
I knew just what I could make to help my daughter release her big worries and head to school happy and confident... worry monsters!
Restaurant dramatic play center for your preschool, pre-k, or kindergarten classroom. Transform your dramatic play center into a restaurant!
High energy kids need to move and use their muscles. Not only are these bottles visually interesting, they also require a bit of strength and energy.
Laura @inspiremyplay Founder of @inspiremyplay, Early Years teacher for 11 years and mummy to three gorgeous girls. I'm passionate about about the benefits of play in early childhood. Drawing with light and shadow is such a simple, fun activity for kids of all ages and works well at home, outdoors or in the classroom! We created a little set up using some leaves from the back garden which you can read about in this blog. Kids will love creating and recreating shadows on paper with this activity! But there are many ways you can do shadow drawing. All you need is the sun, some paper (or another surface you’re happy to have drawn on!), an object to draw, and something to draw with. So, next time there's a sunny day, grab some chalk or pencils and paper and let the kiddies experiment with shadow art. What is Shadow Art? It's all about using the dark shapes (shadows) created by light shining on objects. Imagine holding up a toy or an object in sunlight, and then drawing around its shadow on the ground. That's basically what shadow drawing is! When kids play with shadows, they can learn how light travels and see how objects block the light to make different shadow shapes. Here's a little insight into how it all works: Light goes in one direction until it meets something; If something stands in the way of light, the light hitting the object is obstructed, while the remaining light continues; The obstructed section forms a shadow on a different surface. Shadow Drawing for Kids Shadow drawing for kids doesn't have to be complicated! You don’t need lots of different materials to get creative. All you need is a source of light and some objects to create shadows to trace around. This offers a great chance for you to make learning captivating for your little one, whilst also sparking their curiosity. You could experiment with different shapes and sizes of objects as well as different locations on the page. You could ask them some simple questions: What happens if you move your object around? Does the shadow of your object appear bigger, the same size, or smaller than the actual object? Does the shadow of your object stay the same at different times of the day? How does the shadow of your object change as the sun moves? What is the Best Time of Day to Make Shadow Art? Shadow art is a fantastic way for little ones to understand how the sun moves during the day. They might see that the shadow of their object moves as the angle of the sun does. If they draw shadows at different times, they'll notice that shadows change, growing long in the morning and evening, and shorter at noon. It can be done at any point in the day when shadows are present. By seeing these changes, they get a hands-on lesson about light and how the Earth moves. Shadow Drawing with Leaves I set this activity up by pegging leaves on some string hung between two chairs. Underneath I rolled out a big piece of paper and we traced around the shadows created by the leaves. As well as being a great conversation starter to talk about shadows, this was also a great fine motor challenge and good for concentration and observational skills. Mine enjoyed colouring them afterwards and adding details to their leaves. Here is how you do it step by step: Step 1: Tie leaves to a long piece of string; Step 2: Tie the string at both ends to something strong enough to keep them suspended in the air (we used 2 chairs); Step 3: Place a piece of paper underneath so that the angle of the sun casts the shadows of the leaves on top of the paper; Step 4: Once the shadow on the paper appears, using a pencil, get them to trace their shadow shapes. Afterwards you can colour in the shapes, or get creative in other ways.
